Slender Falls
by BAYALE
Summary: Dipper and Mabel Pines' grandfather has disappeared without a trace. 6 years later, they're ready to go back to Gravity Falls, and find out what really happened. But a mysterious force seems to be stalking them from the vast woods of the town, and it may be behind their grandfather's disappearance.


There was nothing else that could be done, they said.

The police had searched for days on end, without finding any sign of the Pines family's missing relative. The woods in Gravity Falls were vast, and daylight seemed to get sucked from the sky when someone would enter. There were no traces left of Dipper and Mabel's grandfather to be found, and the rescue teams eventually gave up, sending their condolences to the family for their loss.

Dipper and Mabel were 12 at the time.

Dipper glanced at his sister, who was scouring through newspaper articles about the disappearance of one Stanley Pines all those years ago. They were 18 years old now, and having had plenty of practice solving mysteries that the police couldn't seem to figure out, they were eager to solve the case of their vanished family member.

"Mabel, we've read those at least a hundred times; there's nothing in there we could have missed." Dipper checked his watch. The bus ran by the closest stop in half an hour. He turned back to his sister, who was only half listening. "Come on, we're going to miss the bus."

Upon hearing that, Mabel immediately bounced up, grabbing her suitcase in one hand and Dipper's arm in the other. "Well, why didn't you say so bro-bro, let's go already! Man you're slow!" She began pulling him out the door of their shared apartment, barely allowing him to lock the door behind them.

They barely made it on time, causing the bus driver to give them a dirty look before reluctantly allowing them on board. They quickly settled into the very back of the bus, passing by tired looking people, and a strange man who smelled rather strongly of alcohol.

"Are we seriously going to be stuck on this bus for 9 hours? Why didn't we just take a plane?", Dipper complained quietly, not wanting the bus driver to overhear them. Mabel laughed, poking him in the side.

"Because you didn't feel like paying for two plane tickets," she reminded him. Oh right. What a terrible idea. Dipper frowned, glancing down at the questionable looking bus seats they were going to be sleeping on. Great.

"Why would you let me decide on a bus, that's a horrible idea.. Wait a minute. You could have helped pay for tickets!" Dipper let out a groan, leaning back in his seat and covering his eyes with his hands. This was going to take forever.

Mabel laughed, leaning against her twin. "Oh come on, just think of it as another adventure!"

"Yeah, one filled with sweaty tired people and chewed gum in places it should NOT go."

The bus let on the last person who had been waiting at the stop with them, before closing its doors. They were finally on their way to a place that hadn't been since they were kids, Gravity Falls.

Dipper practically collapsed onto the ground when they finally got off of the bus, dramatically kissing the ground as he lay there. "We. Are. FREE." He let out a loud groan, rolling over onto his back, and looked up at his sister who didn't seem bothered. "Wow. Does ANYTHING faze you? Those seats probably have an imprint of our butts, but you look like we weren't even on that metal death trap."

His sister only shrugged and grinned, and pointed at her bottom lip. "Hey uh Dipper, you've got a little friend on your face." She giggled as he let out a very unmanly shriek, swiping furiously at his face. "Come on Dipper, Grunkle Stan is waiting!" She skipped off down the path that led into the town, leaving Dipper there to continue spitting and wiping at his face.

"Hey, w-wait a minute Mabel, wait for me!"

They made their way through the town, heading towards the shack they had called home for that summer long ago. Despite them being away from the town for years, they could clearly recall their way around Gravity Falls.

Mabel slammed open the door to the Mystery Shack, not even bothering to knock. "GRUNKLE STAAAAAN, WE'RE HOME!"

Dipper smacked his sister on the arm, hissing a 'SHH!' at her. "Mabel it's 5 in the morning, there's no way he's awake. How did you even get inside, the door was locked."

"Don't worry about that Dippy, just a little thing I picked up from Grunkle Stan."

Rolling his eyes, Dipper just shook his head and left it alone. It was best to just drop the subject when it came to Mabel's odd skills. He perked up when he heard a familiar grumbling voice, and saw his great uncle descending the stairs. "Kids, what are you doing here so early? And why, no HOW are you being so loud?" Stan stifled a yawn behind his hand, dressed only in his boxers and wifebeater. Mabel didn't waste any time in pouncing on him, giving him a long bearhug.

"Well, we were kinda busy so we could catch the very last bus that ran, and then Dipper held us up so we almost missed THAT one," Mabel ignored Dipper's outcry of 'Aw what, that's a lie!', "And it took us forever to get here; we only just got off the bus!" She heaved in a deep breath when she finished.

Grunkle Stan's facial expression was a mix of amusement and horror at Mabel's level of energy this early in the morning. "Just go to bed, time is money and it's WAY too early to start spending, if you know what I mean." With that said, he turned and trudged back up the stairs, and within minutes the twins could hear him snoring away.

They eventually followed him upstairs, tossing their stuff beside their respective beds. Thankfully Grunkle Stan had the foresight to at least buy them beds they could actually fit in. Dipper plopped down in his bed, only bothering to take off his shoes beforehand, and closed his eyes. "Good night Mabel."

"Night night."


End file.
